Monday, December 12, 2005

Cold Heat, does it work?

I received some of my Christmas presents early this weekend. One of those presents was the Cold Heat battery powered/cordless soldering tool. So, does it work?

I took the device out to the garage with a pair of 12-gauge monster speaker wires. I figured this would be a more than adequate test if I could tin two ends then connect the two ends together. The tool did an adequate job of getting solder into the hair-thin copper strands that were twisted together to form the wire. When I tried to generate enough heat to connect the two wire I wasn’t as successful. Also, unlike the commercial where the guy solders something then immediately touches his finger to the tip to prove it isn’t hot anymore, the tool does stay hot a little while afterwards so don’t be an idiot and try emulating the commercial like I did.

This soldering tool is (was designed) for quick, short bursts of heat. It is battery powered and thus portable, making it a very handy tool for quick repair jobs where an soldering iron with a cord would be a pain in the ass. This tool is not good for heavy duty jobs or for extended use (like product assembly, or a lot of soldering).